


First Christmas

by thunderingskies



Series: You're my ace [9]
Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Domestic Fluff, Holidays, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-26
Updated: 2016-12-26
Packaged: 2018-09-12 07:35:30
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,724
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9062611
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thunderingskies/pseuds/thunderingskies
Summary: It’s their first Christmas together in their new apartment, together, finally , as a couple, and Tooru wants everything to be perfect.





	

It’s their first Christmas together in their new apartment, together, _finally_ , as a couple, and Tooru wants everything to be _perfect._

He’s spent the last two weeks planning and preparing to make sure that everything goes according to plan. Being broke college students means that they don’t have a lot of money lying around to spend on the holidays, nor do they have much time to actually get ready for it.

In fact, between exams, their part-time jobs and squeezing in sleep and eating, they somehow wind up scrambling on Christmas Eve, trying to get their place all decorated for Christmas, because of _course_ they need all these decorations, no it can’t be skipped-

“Hajime, did you get all the lights put up?”

Tooru peeks out of the kitchen, leaning through the door frame to get a look in the living room where he’s left Hajime with the task of putting up the lights. He doesn’t really _want_ to delegate the task to Hajime - there is a particular _order_ to these things, you see - but they’re strapped for time. Tooru is not leaving Hajime alone in the kitchen after the last time he tried to make Tooru pancakes for breakfast and set off the fire alarm, thank you very much.

“Just about.” Hajime clicks his tongue, securing the last of the lights high up on the wall, like Tooru asked him to. He steps back and off the ladder to admire his handiwork. “What do you think?”

“Turn them on!” Tooru squeals, grinning, putting down the bowl of batter he’s stirring in favor of stepping in closer to get a better look. The lights are strung up high on the wall, right where it meets the ceiling, carefully secured all the way across the living room. Tooru’s eyes sweep across the room, a pleased smile on his face, landing at last on Hajime’s form, who is kneeling down to plug them in, fiddling with the outlet before flicking the power on.

The lights flicker, once, twice - they’re old, given to him by Keiji when they got new ones at his place, so he holds his breath that they work - and then they glow steadily, shades of red, blue, green and yellow, colours shimmering beautifully, lighting up the room exactly as Tooru had imagined it would.

Tooru smiles, a small gasp falling from his lips. “They’re perfect.” He grins wide, turning to see Hajime staring at him, expression open and vulnerable; he’s so sweet. Warmth blossoms in his chest.

Hajime steps forward, sweeping him into his arms; he snuggles him in, and Tooru gets a nice, deep breath of Hajime’s scent. It’s so comforting - even when they’re far away from their families, it’s that scent, that feeling, that makes him truly feel at home. “Good. I’m glad you like it.”

Tooru giggles, nuzzling his neck before pulling back. He steps back, ready to continue his baking, but then he hesitates. “Hajime?”

“Yeah?” Hajime steps over to the couch, where Tooru has laid out their Christmas sweaters. He picks his up - a classic black sweater with a design of white snowflakes and reindeers - slipping it up and over his shoulders. The material is soft, and warm, freshly washed.

“You know, I… I can’t believe it sometimes.” Tooru leans against the doorframe, looking contemplative. He picks at his nails, looking down at the floor.

Hajime scrunches up his face in confusion. He runs a hand through his hair, straightening it out, before answering. “Can’t believe what?”

“This. Us.” Tooru waves his hands around, “I just. I thought about this a lot, when we were younger. I didn’t…. I can’t….” He sighs, struggling to find the words. “I just can’t believe I’m so happy.”

They’ve talked a bit, about how things were as teenagers. Tooru’s feelings, first unrequited, then Hajime’s, who was sure that they wouldn’t be returned. It wasn’t the most fun time in the world - actually, it was pretty awful - but it’s their beginnings, so it’s still important to them.

Tooru starts again, “Hajime, If I’m dreaming-”

“You’re not dreaming-” Hajime interrupts, but Tooru just keeps on going, “If I’m dreaming, don’t wake me up, okay?”

“You’re not dreaming,” Hajime repeats, but he smiles. He steps in closer, lifting a hand to run his thumb across Tooru’s lower lip. “But if you were, then that means I must be too, right? So I wouldn’t dream of it.... we’re in this together. I’m not going anywhere without you. Not anymore.”

Tooru’s eyes shimmer, but he blinks away any tears that threaten to fall. “Hajime, you already hit your limit, remember?”

“My limit?” Hajime chuckles, lowering his hand to thread their fingers together.

“Mhm,” Tooru nuzzles the side of his face, “Max two thousand sweet words a month, remember?”

“Oh, that’s right.” Hajime chuckles, thumb brushing over Tooru’s knuckles, which are dry from the cold weather, “Sorry, but I don’t think I can stick to that.”

Tooru whines exasperatedly, but Hajime knows he loves it. “Fine, but then don’t blame me when this is all I wanna do.” He slides his hands up the back of Hajime’s sweater, dropping his weight against him, going limp.

“Tooru,” Hajime laughs, “Don’t go boneless on me!”

“Can’t help it,” he mutters, eyes fluttering closed as he clings to Hajime, “too much mush, I’m going into cuddle mode.”

“Tooru!” He laughs, moving to catch him and hold him up. “I’ll make you a deal, okay? We finish the baking and prep for lunch tomorrow, and then we can cuddle all night, okay?”

“Hmmm, I don’t know,” he hums, his weight dragging Hajime down closer to the floor, bit by bit.

“Or I mean I could just tell everyone that you’re not interested in meeting up for lunch tomorrow, I guess that Keiji will just suffer through with ramen noodles with Kei since you know those two can’t cook - and Makki and Mattsun, well, they said they’d bring milk bread, so we won’t be getting any of that-”

“Okay, okay!” Tooru picks himself back up, straightening himself out and bouncing back into the kitchen. He grabs the bowl of cookie batter, giving it a good stir. “You want to finish putting out the rest of the decorations? I’ll get this in the oven.”

Shaking his head, Hajime can’t help but chuckle under his breath. “Sure thing.” He steps back into the living room, rummaging through the remainders in Tooru’s “Christmas” box - mismatched snowman statues, reindeer ornaments, and a myriad of other odds and ends.

Once they focus on the task at hand, it doesn’t take them long to finish what they need to get done. Tooru bakes, and Hajime chops veggies and separates ingredients on the counter so that they’re ready to go in the morning. It all happens through laughter, sharing kisses between tasks, to the cheeks, and the nose.

Hajime clicks his tongue as he looks out the window, squinting as he takes in the huge snowflakes falling from the sky. “Looks like we’re in for a big storm tonight.”

“You think?” Tooru warms up the kotatsu as he gets dinner ready, simmering up a big pot of soup stock to keep them nice and warm.

“Oh yeah. There was a storm warning, I think?” Hajime brushes past Tooru, getting small bowls of sliced beef, shrimp, some veggies and noodles for the soup.

“Think everyone will make it okay tomorrow?” Tooru spoons out a bit of the broth into a small dish to cool it and taste it; pleased, he moves it all to the table.

Hajime steals a piece of cauliflower to chew on as he helps. “I think so. It should all get plowed by lunch time.” He drops down the last of the food, putting a hand on Tooru’s shoulder. “Sit, I’ll go and get us some drinks.”

Tooru nods, pressing a kiss to Hajime’s cheek as he settles himself under the kotatsu. It’s warm, and he snuggles in with ease, checking to make sure the pot is nice and warm. He waits for Hajime, just poking around at some of the food until his boyfriend slides under with him, so that he can tangle their legs together.

They eat hungrily, conversation coming slowly as they share food and swap stories. This time together, it’s precious; Tooru feels like he’s been starved of his Hajime time, with school and work and _life_ getting in the way. There’s something so special about their alone time, like this.

Hajime leans forward, brushing a strand of Tooru’s hair behind an ear, and pressing a chaste kiss to the corner of his lips. “Sorry that we couldn’t go back home for the holidays.” He bites his lip, playing with his chopsticks, “I know you really liked what we used to do, there, together.”

Tooru lifts his gaze, face crestfallen, “Hajime, I-”

“But it’s okay. You know why?” He shakes his head in response, and Hajime takes his hand. “It’s our first holiday together… so we get to make our own traditions.” Tooru is watching him, and he smiles, brightly, “I think that spending the night together, just the two of us, is the best tradition that I could think of.”

Tooru wipes his eyes, nodding. “Me too, Hajime.” He blinks, eyes fluttering closed, as he leans in and presses their lips together. Sweet and soft, just the way he likes it; Hajime wraps his arms around him, tasting and exploring his best friend, his lover, his _Tooru._

Tooru is warm, and pliant; he folds himself against Hajime so familiarly, so practiced. The remainder of their dinner lies, forgotten, as Hajime pulls him closer, tongue tracing his bottom lip. Tooru moves closer, to slide a leg around Hajime’s waist, twining around him to hold him close.

Hajime grunts, shifting positions, but when he does he knocks the kotatsu, which rattles with the pot and bowls on it.

He pulls away, smiling when Tooru chases him for more kisses, managing to get out a soft, “Pause?”

He gets a sigh in response, then a nod. “Pause. Three minutes?”

“Okay.” Hajime kisses him once more for good luck before they slide off each other, taking the moment to do what they need to do. They use ‘pause’ a lot - sometimes when they have things to do, but sometimes when they just need a break. Tooru found himself saying it to Hajime a lot this semester when being surrounded by his friends was just getting to be too overwhelming day in and day out.

Three minutes later and they’re back, Tooru with snacks and Hajime with a bottle of sake to share. Hajime sits on the couch, but Tooru stands in front of it, looking conflicted.

Hajime quirks a brow. “What?”

“I want to sit on the couch but the kotatsu is so warm!” He tilts his head to the side, before his face lights up in epiphany. “Hajime, get up!”

So he does, of course, and watches while Tooru pulls off the cushions, putting them down on the floor, pushing the couch back enough to give them room. He climbs on top of them, snuggling down under the blanket looking pleased as punch, holding a hand out to Hajime. Their fingers slide together and Tooru pulls him down, leaving just enough room for him to slide his legs under, pulling Tooru in nice and close.

“Good?” Hajime asks, running his hands through Tooru’s hair. It’s soft, and smells of sweet vanilla.

“Mhm.” Tooru rubs his face against Hajime’s chest, grabbing the television remote from on the table. “Movie?”

Hajime is a little distracted, but he nods anyway, pressing a kiss to the back of Tooru’s head. “Sure. You pick.” He knows that they probably won’t make it through one, anyway. They’re warm and content from the food and the cuddles, and they don’t have anywhere to be.

Tooru looks through his options, settling on _Elf_ , which they’ve watched pretty much every holiday season so far so it’s practically a tradition of their own. The movie starts up, Tooru munches on some popcorn and Hajime half-watches the movie; the other half of his attention is focused on Tooru, and the steady beat of his heart in the position they’re in.

Tooru laughs, and the feeling vibrates through him, and to Hajime. The movie is nice, but all of this is nicer; getting to feel close and intimate and loved.

Their love, it’s there, in every gesture. In the way that Tooru saves all of the red candy for Hajime, his favourites, passing them back with kisses; in the way that Hajime cradles Tooru in close when he starts to doze off, shifting enough to let him drift, until he finally shuts off the television, shifting Tooru off him.

“Hey, babe,” he nuzzles his cheek, “We need to go to bed, okay?”

Tooru yawns, chasing Hajime for his warmth. “Noo, no bed - I wanted… to stay up.” He takes a deep breath, shaking his head to wake himself up. “Until I can actually give you your gift.”

“You weren’t supposed to get me anything, Tooru.” He smiles, softly.

“I _know,_ but I wanted to, and plus, I knew you were going to get me something anyway.” He smiles, tired but cheekily, and Hajime is far too weak to that smile.

Hajime lifts up the sleeve of his sweater, checking his watch. “It’s eleven thirty. We’ll have enough time once we get ready for bed, okay?”

Tooru nods, and extends his arms, wiggling them impatiently. “Carry me, Hajime?”

And he does. “I spoil you way too much.”

“You do,” Tooru chuckles as Hajime lifts him in his arms, carrying him princess style back to their shared bedroom. “Please never stop.”

Hajime shakes his head, laughing. There’s no way that he would, anyway.

They head into the bathroom first, where Hajime sits him on the sink to brush their teeth, and for Tooru wash his face - Hajime knows he’s particular about that, and would be annoyed in the morning if his routine were interrupted. He indulges him again and lifts him back up, chuckling when Tooru nuzzles against his chest.

In the bedroom, he drops him down on to the bed unceremoniously. “Strip,” he orders, stepping back to pull off his own sweater, too.

Tooru makes a face, winking flirtatiously. “How forward, Hajime.”

Hajime rolls his eyes, tossing his sweater in the laundry basket. “You were literally just snoring on top of me, you wouldn’t stay awake for that.”

“So mean, Hajime!” Tooru looks offended as he pulls off his sweater and shirt in one go, throwing it towards the laundry basket, and missing. Hajime snorts and picks it up, dropping it in along with his shirt.

“Just being honest.” Hajime ditches the rest of his clothes, climbing into bed when he’s stripped down to his underwear. He helps Tooru do the same, which is made a little harder when Tooru sighs, deciding he wants to trace out the length of the tree tattoo inked on Hajime’s back.

“Tooru, your pants-”

“Shhh, it’s fine.” Tooru whispers, his soft fingers trailing along the expanse of skin on his back, marked beautifully by a tattoo he’d gotten earlier in the year. The colours mix together wonderfully; Tooru loves it, loves feeling along the roots and branches, tracing over the flowers and blossoms that bloom from it. It’s beautiful, and Tooru is so proud in knowing that Hajime drew the design himself.

Satisfied, Tooru leans down to press a kiss to the small of Hajime’s back, kissing his way up to his shoulder blades, and then his neck. He inhales deeply, lifting himself up with a soft sigh. “Hajime,” he says, fingers spread out across his back.

“Hm?” Hajime’s eyes flutter open again, from where he’d closed them from relaxation.

“It’s midnight.” He sits back to let Hajime sit up, and turn to face him. Hajime looks sleep now, too, and Tooru grins at his cute expression. “Merry Christmas, Hajime.”

Hajime looks up to meet his gaze, and smiles. “Merry Christmas.” He leans in close to steal a kiss, lips cool and inviting, tasting of sweet raspberry candies. Hajime’s hands slide up Tooru’s arms, pushing him back down on to the bed, where he can properly climb on top of him, and plant kisses up his pale chest, properly appreciating his soft, delectable skin.

When he finally makes his way up to his neck, Tooru laughs and pushes him off, “Hajime! You know I’m ticklish there!”

“I know,” he laughs, and kisses him there again. “Gifts?”

Tooru’s face lights up. “Oh, that’s right!” He pushes Hajime off, and slides off his bed. He tiptoes over to the closet, rummaging around until he pulls out a small box, wrapped impeccably in that way of his. He turns back to the bed as Hajime leans over into his night stand, rummaging around until he pulls out a large envelope.

“You kept it in the night stand?” Tooru huffs, coming back and dropping himself next to Hajime. “What if I found it?”

He rolls his eyes, “You never look in there.” He sits up, pulling Tooru close enough that their knees are touching, because any time that they aren’t connected in some way just isn’t enough for him anymore.

Suddenly, Hajime is nervous. What if Tooru doesn’t like it? What if it’s not what he wants, or he’s expecting something else-

Tooru hands him his gift, a shy smile on his face, and Hajime shakes his head. What is he worrying for? He knows Tooru, and Tooru knows him.

Hajime hands over the envelope in turn, taking a deep breath in.

“On three?” Tooru looks up to meet his gaze, grin on his face.

He nods. “Okay. One… two… three.” Hajime inhales as he starts to pull back the wrapping paper, gaze flicking up instead to watch Tooru open up his gift.

It’s a simple envelope, really, nothing fancy, but Tooru looks excited as a child as he opens it. His face is full of excitement as he slides out the papers inside, attention completely focused as he flips over the pages, eyes sliding over the letter inside.

Hajime’s holding his breath, he’s so nervous. He hadn’t had a clue what to get his boyfriend, and after a lot of careful consideration and consulting his friend, he’d made something as personal as personal could be. Inside the envelope is a letter, one that Hajime hopes can come close to conveying how much love he feels for him, and a drawing.

He’s pretty sure Tooru’s forgotten about it, or thinks he’s forgotten, but he hasn’t. Tooru made him promise, back when he got his own tattoo, that he’d draw something for him to have done once Hajime’s finished all of his schooling and can do tattoos himself.

So Hajime has given him just that - it’s just the first design, and he’s sure they’ll tweak it and re-do it depending on what Tooru likes and doesn’t like - but he’s poured all of his love into this, and Tooru’s reaction has him on pins and needles, and so he waits.

Tooru reads, expression intense, slowly flipping to the second page as tears fill his eyes. He brings a hand up to his face, breath caught in his throat. “ _Hajime!”_ His eyes flick up to Hajime’s, before turning back to the letter, turning to the drawing Hajime’s included. He opens his mouth to talk, but it all gets caught in his throat. “Oh my god!”

Hajime smiles, watching Tooru’s expression brighten the more he looks, the more details he soaks up. He hardly has time to register before Tooru is throwing himself at him, hugging him close, trembling softly. Hajime holds him close, arms snaking around his body to hug him.

“Hajime,” Tooru sniffles, “Hajime, it’s beautiful. It’s perfect.” He pulls away to press a kiss to Hajime’s forehead, nose, and then his lips. “I love you so much.”

The brilliant smile he gets in return is gorgeous, and Tooru has to kiss it again. “Open yours, open yours!” He sits back, voice ringing excitement as he carefully takes his letter and drawing, bringing them to his dresser for safe keeping.

His own gift had been forgotten in the excitement, so Hajime unwraps it carefully. The wrapping paper pulls aside to reveal a small box, which Hajime opens slowly, pulling out a thin, silver necklace. It’s simple, and a small charm hangs from it, the shape of a leaf, with an engraving on the back of it.

“I-I know you don’t really wear much jewelry,” Tooru begins, looking away nervously, “but I thought something simple would be okay - I picked a leaf, because that’s where we met, as kids out in the forest, and that’s where we played… and… that’s where I fell in love with you.” He’s blushing now, but he pushes through with determination. “I engraved the date on it… The date when it all finally happened.” He wrings his fingers, a little afraid to look up.

Hajime’s breath catches. “We’re just a bunch of saps, aren’t we?”

Tooru finally lifts his gaze up, eyes locking, and now they’re both tearing up; Tooru laughs, leaning in to press tiny kisses to Hajime’s face, wiping away the tears forming there. Hajime runs his fingers over the engraving, swallowing back some more tears.

“I love you, Tooru,” he says, leaning in for another warm kiss. Tooru laughs into it, but kisses him back, his fingers curling in Hajime’s hair, holding him in place.

Hajime pushes Tooru down, and they curl up together, like they do every night. They shift, getting comfortable, until Hajime is able to draw him in for more slow, lazy kisses, their legs tangling together under the warm blankets. Tooru sighs into the kisses, mouth opening lazily when Hajime swipes his tongue across his lower lip.

They stay pressed together like that for what feels like hours; Tooru is sure he’d be happy to do that all night, but fatigue pulls at his senses, dragging him away from this moment. When they finally pull apart, Tooru laughs breathily and burrows his head against Hajime’s chest.

“I love you too, Hajime.”

Forever and always, to the moon and back - there’s nothing he’s more thankful for than the love he gets to feel each and every single day.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you _so_ much to everyone who reads, leaves kudos, comments, and supports me in my writing! I have had such an amazing year writing on AO3, and it's all thanks to the absolutely welcoming community here. I really appreciate each and every one of you! :)
> 
> (As an aside -- I will be completing all the 25 December drabbles, hopefully before the month ends... I was a little too ambitious when my holidays didn't start until the 24th lol!)


End file.
